ABSTRACT
This paper documents a project initiated by a major beer producer in the Netherlands. The company has a pro-active policy regarding occupational health and safety, and the problem of the manual handling of its 50-litre beer kegs has been a focus of attention for some years. Manual handling regulations increased the pressure to find a solution, and the original intention was to accomplish this by testing and improving a product idea that had already been developed into a second generation prototype. This product idea consisted of a hand truck equipped with a hook system to grab a keg and a tackle which was to be used by the lorry crews of the beer company. It was thought t his product would be suitable to handle kegs in all kinds of ways during the delivery, but especially to be able to gently lower kegs into the cellars of the pubs.
